To a large degree, society influences you as to your behavior. It is hard for the Christian to live in the USA but not participate in its behavior. The biblical command to live a life separate from the culture in which you live is not too uncommon with the cultural gap the biblical believers had with their culture. Scripture commands Christians to live a different life-style than the pagan culture you live in.
One of the differences lies in the command to be a servant. Society promotes being your own boss at work, in marriage, with children, and in just about any situation you will find yourself. You know you should be a servant, but you do not like to be taken advantage of either. What you have to remember is that life here on earth is not the end; there will be eternity in heaven. Learn to store up treasures in heaven, not here on earth. Being heavenly minded will help you tremendously with that tension between being a servant and being the boss.
One way you can easily determine whether or not you are living your life as a servant is to see how you feel toward others after you serve them. Gordon MacDonald says this very plainly, “You can tell whether you are becoming a servant by how you act when people treat you like one.” Wow! Sorry to say, few are those Christians who can act as a servant and feel good about themselves when others treat them as a servant.
The Lord’s disciples struggled with the same problem you face. They argued about which one of them was going to have the highest position once they got to heaven. Jesus answers them in Matthew 20:26 by saying, “it is not so among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant.” To drive this message home with them He uses Himself as an example, since they are following Him as their Teacher, “just as the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many” (v. 28). Jesus in essence tells them that He came to serve, so they need to be servants too.
As a reality check to your true view of yourself as a servant, take note of how you respond when someone treats you like a servant. The world needs more servants!
